{"id":60999,"date":"2026-02-27T21:00:00","date_gmt":"2026-02-27T12:00:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/automaton-media.com\/en\/?p=60999"},"modified":"2026-02-27T17:20:57","modified_gmt":"2026-02-27T08:20:57","slug":"pokemon-cards-are-finally-becoming-accessible-to-kids-again-as-japans-speculative-bubble-collapses","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/automaton-media.com\/en\/news\/pokemon-cards-are-finally-becoming-accessible-to-kids-again-as-japans-speculative-bubble-collapses\/","title":{"rendered":"Pok\u00e9mon cards are finally becoming accessible\u00a0to kids\u00a0again\u00a0as Japan\u2019s speculative bubble collapses\u00a0"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

During the Covid-19 pandemic, Pokemon TCG <\/strong>cards <\/strong>soared in value, becoming sought out not only by players and collectors, but also by scalpers and thieves<\/a>. While premium cards are still selling for exorbitant prices, the speculative boom seems to be dying out in Japan as of recent. Japanese outlet Daily Shincho<\/a> reports that a large number of Pok\u00e9mon card shops have been quietly going out of business across the country due to card prices rapidly dropping. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

According to a Tokyo-based card retailer interviewed by Daily\u00a0Shincho, even\u00a0one of\u00a0the most popular collectors\u2019 cards\u00a0in Japan, the Lillie Full Art card illustrated by Naoki Saito, has dropped from\u00a0a $65,000 buying price to under $15k. The drop in value of\u00a0Pok\u00e9mon\u00a0cards was further\u00a0driven by the issue of\u00a0counterfeits, which are becoming increasingly well-made and difficult\u00a0to tell apart from genuine cards.\u00a0<\/p>\n\n\n\n

As so-called \u201cPok\u00e9mon card investors\u201d began to exit the market, they caused a domino effect by selling\u00a0off\u00a0their collections and effectively reducing the scarcity of cards.\u00a0All of this seems to have had a beneficial effect on people who actually play\u00a0the card game, especially kids.\u00a0The Japanese card retailer comments that prices have finally become realistic enough for children to buy, with rare cards that used to cost over $300 now being available for $30. Additionally,\u00a0the problem of masses of people lining up at card shops on release day has improved, and Pok\u00e9mon cards can be found in stock at\u00a0ordinary toy shops again.\u00a0<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Curiously, Pok\u00e9mon cards seem to have been replaced by stickers when it comes to scalping, particularly \u201c3D\u201d Bonbon Drop stickers. These have until recently been an item collected and enjoyed by Japanese children, but soon started being hoarded by adults looking to profit from their high demand and scarcity. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Related: <\/strong>Pok\u00e9mon creator stalked and ambushed for autographs by scalpers<\/strong><\/a><\/strong> <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Pok\u00e9mon cards are so valuable that criminals are using them to launder dirty money, Japanese media reports<\/strong><\/a><\/strong> <\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Prices of Pokemon TCG cards are rapidly dropping in Japan, making them more accessible to children, according to a Tokyo retailer.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":55,"featured_media":61004,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_gspb_post_css":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[3],"tags":[17,70],"class_list":["post-60999","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-news","tag-japan-related-news","tag-pokemon-series"],"blocksy_meta":[],"yoast_head":"\nPok\u00e9mon cards are finally becoming accessible\u00a0to kids\u00a0again\u00a0as Japan\u2019s speculative bubble collapses\u00a0 - AUTOMATON WEST<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"Prices of Pokemon TCG cards are rapidly dropping in Japan, making them more accessible to children, according to a Tokyo retailer.\" \/>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/automaton-media.com\/en\/news\/pokemon-cards-are-finally-becoming-accessible-to-kids-again-as-japans-speculative-bubble-collapses\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Pok\u00e9mon cards are finally becoming accessible\u00a0to kids\u00a0again\u00a0as Japan\u2019s speculative bubble collapses\u00a0 - 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